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Joshua Rush

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Joshua Rush
Born
Joshua Nisenson

(2001-12-14) December 14, 2001 (age 22)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Other names
  • Joshua Rush Nisenson[1][2]
  • Joshua Nisenson[3]
Alma materUniversity of Utah
Years active2009–present
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Socialists of America
External image
image icon Rush in 2017

Joshua Nisenson (born December 14, 2001),[4][5] also known as Joshua Rush, is an American actor and political activist. He is known for playing Cyrus Goodman on the Disney Channel series Andi Mack (2017–2019), the first openly-gay character on the network. Rush earned significant praise and media coverage for his performance, as well as a Young Entertainer Award in 2019.

Rush began his career as a child actor, appearing in short films and commercials, and the series Heroes (2009). For his role as Turner in the feature film Parental Guidance (2012), he received two Young Artist Award nominations. His voice roles includes Breehn on the Cartoon Network series Clarence (2014–2016), Bunga on the Disney Junior series The Lion Guard (2016–2019) and the titular character on the DreamWorks series Where's Waldo? (2019–2021).

Early life and education

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Rush was born in Houston, Texas, to parents Adam and Beryt (née Kiselstein) Nisenson.[6][7][8] His father is a marketing strategist as well as a marriage and family therapist and his mother is a corporate documentary producer.[9][7][10] He is Jewish.[11] In December 2019, Rush revealed his intentions to study at New York University's Gallatin School.[12] However, he instead went to the University of Utah, graduating in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.[13]

Career

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Early work (2001–2009)

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Rush was ten months old when he first appeared in a local television special. By age 21⁄2, he had the ability to identify cars by logo and body style, and was featured on the KHOU morning news in a segment on how to raise "smart kids."[14] Before working on Heroes, Rush appeared on Private Practice, and tailored several film credits, such as Blue Boy, The Journal, and Mindsight. He also acted in commercials for Space Center Houston and Safeco Insurance, and an e-card for americangreetings.com.[15]

In 2009, Rush appeared on The Jay Leno Show as the "Super Duper Nanny Son." The same year he also appeared on Medium as Tanner Campbel, the boy in the banana costume, and on Criminal Minds as Ronny Downey. Rush's first major television role came in 2009 when he was cast on Heroes. He played Zachary Quinto's character, Sylar, at a young age. This recurring role was part of a major plot point in season three. After Heroes, Rush had minor roles on Parenthood, CSI: NY, and Special Agent Oso.

Acting breakthrough (2010–2017)

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In 2010, Rush began portraying a young version of Zachary Levi's character Chuck Bartowski on Chuck. In this role, he worked with such actors as Scott Bakula and Linda Hamilton. Following his work on Chuck, Rush did ADR work on the Hallmark Channel movie November Christmas, and commercials for McDonald's and GameStop. In 2012, Rush appeared as Turner Simmons in the feature film Parental Guidance, which earned him a Young Artist Award nomination as Best Supporting Young Actor Age Ten and Under in a Feature Film.[16]

From 2017 to 2019, he gained prominence through his role as Cyrus Goodman, one of the two best friends of the title character on the Disney Channel series Andi Mack.[17][18][19] Rush, who is Jewish, requested Andi Mack creator and executive producer Terri Minsky, also Jewish, to write a bar mitzvah scene for his character, which occurs in Season 2 Episode 13, "Cyrus' Bash-Mitzvah!".[11] Rush's performance was praised, and he is noted for having played the first gay main character on Disney Channel, and the first to have a same-sex love interest, TJ Kippen (Luke Mullen).[20][21]

Rush also appeared as Jacob in the 2015 thriller film Emelie. He voiced Toby in Netflix and DreamWorks Animation's The Adventures of Puss in Boots and Breehn on Cartoon Network's Clarence. From 2016 to 2019, he voiced Bunga on the Disney Junior series The Lion Guard.

Political ventures (2018–present)

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Rush started a weekly news series on social media in 2018, titled News in a Rush, covering politics and current events in minute-long videos aimed to make younger viewers understand certain topics.[22][23] Rush volunteered for the 2018 congressional campaigns of Beto O'Rourke, Ben McAdams, Harley Rouda, and Katie Porter.[24] He served as the Under 18 Ambassador for National Absentee Ballot Day.[25]

In 2019, Rush interned at the United States House of Representatives.[26] He told Teen Vogue in an October 2019 interview that he identifies "as a Democrat, probably on the more progressive wing."[24] Rush was a surrogate for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign.[27] He then volunteered for Senator Ed Markey's reelection campaign, as well as interviewing several down-ballot congressional candidates.[28] He is a panelist for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media[29] and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[30][non-primary source needed]

In April 2019, it was announced he would voice the titular character in DreamWorks Animation Television series on Universal Kids, Where's Waldo?.[31] In February 2021, Rush announced that he has started a new job as the communications director for the Utah Democratic Party.[32]

In September 2022, Rush visited UNEP where he discussed the recent climate change and the retreat of glaciers since 1850.[33][non-primary source needed][34][35] As of 2023, he is deputy press secretary for California state senator Toni Atkins.[1][3]

Personal life

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Rush came out as bisexual on August 6, 2019.[36] In February 2020, Rush opened up about his parents' divorce and his mental health issues in a Teen Vogue article.[37] He is based between California and Utah.[38]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 Parental Guidance Turner Simmons
2013 Saving Lincoln Tad Lincoln
Escape from Planet Earth Young Shanker Voice role
2014 Mr. Peabody & Sherman Carl[39] Voice role
Break Point Barry
2015 Emelie Jacob
Sex, Death and Bowling Eli McAllister

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 Private Practice Will 1 episode
2009–2010 Heroes Little Sylar Recurring role, 6 episodes
2009 Medium Tanner Campbel / Boy in Banana Costume 2 episodes
The Jay Leno Show Super Duper Nanny Son 1 episode
Criminal Minds Ronny Downey[40] 1 episode
2010 CSI: NY Luke Garito 1 episode
Chuck Young Chuck 3 episodes
2011 Childrens Hospital Seth 1 episode
2012 House Ryan 1 episode
Gravity Falls Soldier Kid 1 episode
2013 The Cleveland Show Dudley 1 episode
2014–2016 Clarence Breehn Recurring voice role, 15 episodes
2015 40's and Failing Max 4 episodes
2015–2017 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Jeremy Birnbaum[41] Recurring voice role, 5 episodes
2015 The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar Bunga[42] Television film
Bones Bradley 1 episode
2015–2018 The Adventures of Puss in Boots Toby[43] Main voice role
2016 The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show Wheels 1 episode
2016–2019 The Lion Guard Bunga[44] Main voice role
2016 The Loud House Classmate #1 / Quarterback 2 episodes
2017–2019 Andi Mack Cyrus Goodman Main role
2019–2021 Where's Waldo? Waldo[45] Main voice role

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2012 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast Parental Guidance Nominated [16]
2012 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor Ten and Under Parental Guidance Nominated [16]
2019 Young Entertainer Awards Best Young Ensemble in a Television Series Andi Mack Won [46]

References

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  1. ^ a b Korte, Lara; Govindarao, Sejal; Gardiner, Dustin (August 9, 2023). "When candidates are coworkers". Politico. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "Joshua Rush Nisenson". linkedin.com.
  3. ^ a b "Joshua Nisenson - California Senate President Pro Tempore's Office". LegiStorm. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "UPI Almanac for Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017". United Press International. December 14, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  5. ^ "Watch out world! Guess who just got their permit?! This guy right here 👆🏻So which one is the gas again? #newdriver #beepbeep". Joshua Rush. August 18, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2018 – via Instagram. When the Image is zoomed, for the DOB it shows December 14, 2001.
  6. ^ "Life of Joshua Rush & His Coming Out As A Bisexual". factsninja.com. February 11, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "002mag.com". 002mag.com.
  8. ^ "Andi Mack – Show Bios". Walt Disney Television Press. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  9. ^ "Adam Nisenson Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT, CSAT". www.psychologytoday.com.
  10. ^ "Testimonials - Mari Ferguson - Houston Actor, Voice Talent, Acting Coach, Classes". mariferguson.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Saval, Malina (April 17, 2018). "Jewish Stars: A Conversation with Joshua Rush". Tablet. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  12. ^ Stivale, Shelby (December 16, 2019). "Joshua Rush Announces He's Taking A Break From Acting To Go To College". J-14.
  13. ^ Weekman, Kelsey (June 23, 2021). "In the Know Honors: Joshua Rush". In the Know. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  14. ^ Home | Joshua Rush | Official Site. Joshua Rush (September 10, 2008). Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  15. ^ Video Clips | Joshua Rush | Official Site. Joshua Rush. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  16. ^ a b c "34th Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
  17. ^ Ryan Schwartz (August 5, 2016). "Disney Channel, Lizzie McGuire Creator Reunite for Coming-of-Age Comedy". TVLine. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  18. ^ Nellie Andreeva (August 5, 2016). "'Andi Mack' Comedy From 'Lizzie McGuire' Creator Picked Up To Series By Disney Channel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  19. ^ Angela Williams (June 4, 2018). "Disney Channel star Joshua Rush says he's 'really proud' to play a gay character on 'Andi Mack'". Good Morning America. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  20. ^ Kiley, Rachel (July 27, 2019). "Disney's 'Andi Mack' Ends With the Start of First Gay Relationship". Pride. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  21. ^ Williams, Janice (July 26, 2019). "Andi Mack' fans get emotional after Disney show teases network's first gay couple". Newsweek. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  22. ^ Thompson, Avery (May 31, 2018). "Joshua Rush Breaks Down Current Events Series 'News In A Rush': Kids 'Deserve' To Know Facts". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  23. ^ "Why Joshua Rush's 'News in a Rush' Series is Important". Glitter Magazine. September 7, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  24. ^ a b Kirkland, Allegra (October 2, 2019). "Joshua Rush Thinks a Lot More Celebrities Should Get Political". Teen Vogue. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  25. ^ Bentley, Rick (July 20, 2019). "Joshua Rush sees 'Andi Mack' as one step toward change". Daily Dispatch. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  26. ^ Ben McAdams (May 15, 2019). "Washingtown: Insights from an Intern". Overcast (Podcast). Retrieved May 16, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  27. ^ "March to the Polls with Josh Rush and SMC Students for Bernie!". CPD Action. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  28. ^ Schwartz, Deanna (August 14, 2020). "Ed Markey Is the Favorite of Gen Z Voters in the Massachusetts Senate Race". Teen Vogue. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  29. ^ "Joshua Rush". See Jane. June 11, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  30. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 9, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2022 – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. ^ Deanna Destito (April 26, 2019). "WHERE'S WALDO? Premieres In Its Newest Form This July". The Beat. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  32. ^ @JoshuaRush (February 2, 2021). "Tweet" (Tweet) – via Twitter. [dead link]
  33. ^ "Had the tremendous honor of joining @UNEP @UnitedNations to remind leaders that climate education will be a critical aspect to meeting the Global Goals. We must make sure people have the necessary tools to create the change we want to see, and I'm excited to be a part of the movement to make the democratization of climate education a reality". instagram.com.
  34. ^ "Actor Joshua Rush visits United Nations, calls for urgent climate action #shorts" – via YouTube.
  35. ^ "Actor Joshua Rush visits United Nations, calls..." United Nations. September 26, 2022.
  36. ^ Smith, Reiss (August 6, 2019). "Andi Mack actor Joshua Rush comes out as bisexual". PinkNews. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  37. ^ Rush, Joshua (February 21, 2020). "Joshua Rush Opens Up About His Parents Getting a Divorce". Teen Vogue. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  38. ^ "Joshua Rush, Only Fools Rush In". Imagine-magazine.org.
  39. ^ "Joshua Rush (Mr. Peabody & Sherman) Interview - AfterBuzz TV's Spotlight On Josh Rush". afterbuzztv.com. November 20, 2021.
  40. ^ "16 Celebs You Totally Forgot Guest-Starred on Criminal Minds". seventeen.com. October 12, 2022.
  41. ^ "Disney Channel star Joshua Rush says he's 'really proud' to play a gay character on 'Andi Mack'". goodmorningamerica.com.
  42. ^ "New teaser clip and new voice cast added to 'The Lion King' spinoff". abc30.com.
  43. ^ "Young Performer Joshua Rush Voices Characters for Netflix, Cartoon Network & More". huffpost.com. October 23, 2015.
  44. ^ "Interview: Joshua Rush from Andi Mack and The Lion Guard". laughingplace.com. August 3, 2017.
  45. ^ "'Where's Waldo?': Joshua Rush, Haley Tju, Eva Carlton & Thomas Lennon Lead Voice Cast For Universal Kids Series From DreamWorks Animation". Deadline Hollywood. April 26, 2019.
  46. ^ "The 4th Young Entertainer Awards" (PDF). April 7, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
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